White Tower (Tower of London)

The White Tower is a central tower, the old keep, at the Tower of London. It was built by William the Conqueror during the early 1080s, and subsequently extended. The White Tower was the castle's strongest point militarily, and provided accommodation for the king and his representatives, as well as a chapel. Henry III ordered that the tower be whitewashed in 1240.

The castle which later became known as the Tower of London was begun by William the Conqueror in 1066. It began as a timber fortification enclosed by a palisade. In the next decade work began on the White Tower, the great stone keep that still dominates the castle today. The precise date of the White Tower's foundation is unknown, and it is also uncertain how long building took. It is traditionally held that construction began in 1078. This is because the Textus Roffensis records that Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, oversaw the building work under instruction from William the Conqueror.Dendrochronological evidence suggests construction of the White Tower began in 1075–1079. The archaeology of the standing building suggests there was a pause in construction between 1080 and 1090–1093, although it is unknown why. Gundulf did more than just oversee work and was a skilled architect. Rochester's castle and cathedral were rebuilt under his auspices. As the main castle in England's capital, the Tower of London was an important royal building. The keep built by Gundulf bears testament to this as it was one of the largest in Christendom.

The White Tower was multi-purpose. It was the castle's strongest point militarily yet provided accommodation fit for the king and his representatives. In Norman architecture the keep was a symbol of a lord's power. The White Tower was probably complete by 1100 at the latest, at which point it was used to imprison Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham. It was probably during Henry II's reign (1154–1189) that a forebuilding was added to the south side of the tower to provide extra defences to the entrance, but it has not survived.Henry III's relations with his barons were uneasy, and in the 1220s and 1230s he enhanced the castle's defences and domestic buildings. Though the work he started may not have been finished within his lifetime, he extended the castle to the north and east, building a new stone wall to enclose the castle. A timber gallery was added to the top of the White Tower, projecting beyond its walls to better defend the base of the tower. Henry also undertook maintenance of the White Tower and it was during his reign that the tradition of whitewashing the building began. In March 1240 the Keeper of the Works at the Tower of London was ordered "to have the Great Tower whitened both inside and out". Later that year the king wrote to the Keeper, commanding that the White Tower's lead guttering should be extended with the effect that "the wall of the tower ... newly whitened, may be in no danger of perishing or falling outwards through the trickling of the rain". Henry did not explain his order to whitewash the keep, but may have been influenced by contemporary fashion in Europe to paint prestigious buildings white. He also added decoration to the chapel in the keep, adding stained glass, statues, and paintings.

...
Wikipedia